Reality (Linstead AU)

Chapter 18

Raquel had one of her big, infectious smiles on her face when she came out of the locker room. WWE presented her on-screen as a mean-faced savage who often destroyed her opponents with powerful moves that the other women could only dream of being able to perform. But in reality, Raquel was a kind, funny person to be around. The difference was stark, which made Jay admire the ability with which she played her character.

"Hi, Jay," she said happily. "I had a look around for you earlier. How are you doing?"

"Doing really good," Jay said with a smile of his own, and he wasn't exaggerating. "Wanted to ask you about something. Coffee?"

"Sure. But before we do that, can we find somewhere with a bit of space, and can you take some pictures of me? I just got this new ring attire yesterday and I want some pics for my Insta."

After his talk with Erin over breakfast, during which they had begun to get to know each, Jay had decided to spend time on his flight out to the show looking up tips for forming relationships with people. He knew full well that he needed big time help with that. He had felt so awkward trying to talk to Erin that he had been left wondering what was wrong with him. The truth was, Erin had done most of the meaningful talking, raising no objection to his lack of conversational skills now that she knew reason behind the problem. Or at least, the basics of it.

The big take away he had gotten from his reading was that asking people questions and showing interest in what they had to say was a great way to connect with them. It wasn't going to be easy for him to do that, but he figured there was going to be no better time to start. He realised that although he had become friends with Raquel, he knew pretty much nothing about her outside of wrestling and her relationship with Zelina. They hadn't talked about much else. He wanted to change that.

He would have been in the same situation with Erin, barely knowing anything about her, if she hadn't spent time over breakfast telling him about her rather bizarre childhood, growing up in a mansion with a nanny, a housekeeper, a dad who was hardly ever there, and when he was he'd had wrestlers at the house as guests. The whole thing had sounded crazy and not too pleasant, but it was nowhere near as bad as his own childhood, as she now knew.

"So, what do you think?" Raquel asked, handing Jay her phone to take the pictures and giving him a twirl to show off her ring attire.

He shrugged off his thoughts and paid attention to his friend. She was wearing a sleeveless black top with silver detailing that left most of her back exposed. With it she had on matching black pants, also with silver detailing. The look suited her, and being sleeveless left her muscular arms on show. Her height and power made her stand out compared to the other women, so in his opinion she was right to show off what she had.

"It is good attire. The style suits you, and I like the black and silver," he said, hoping he didn't sound as awkward as he felt. Compliments didn't come naturally to him either.

"Thank you," Raquel said cheerfully. "Just get a couple of pictures, front and back. Then we can go get that coffee and you can ask me whatever you wanted to ask me. Hey, you're good, right?" she asked with sudden concern.

"I'm great," he assured her. It was the right word to use, too. Actually, he couldn't remember the last time he had felt so happy and positive about the future, at least outside of his wrestling career. In the past, that had been the only thing he lived for. Now he saw that he might have other reasons.

"That's good. Take a picture before the phone locks itself."

"Shit," Jay muttered, checking that the phone's camera was still on. It was. He raised it as Raquel posed, standing with her hands on her hips and a fearsome look on her face, now in-character.